What is KWIC?

The Keuka Watershed Improvement Cooperative (KWIC) is an intermunicipal agreement among the eight municipalities surrounding Keuka Lake that provides comprehensive planning for uniform regulation of wastewater (septic) management and assist with uniform enforcement of those regulations within the participating municipalities.

The KWIC is also responsible for responding to other problems that threaten the quality of Keuka Lake. The KWIC has the ability to develop model ordinances and recommendations that local government can take action on to help protect lake water quality. The KWIC may also determine if other methods, such as educational programs, are necessary to promote water quality.

The KWIC is staffed by a Watershed Program Manager. The Watershed Manager is charged with management, design, layout, specifications, enforcement and managment of wastewater systems. The managment of the wastewater systems within the watershed is performed using a custom designed web application created specficially for KWIC and partically funded by KLA. The software was sucseccfully released and put into daily use in April of 2010. The manager also is the supervisor for the local Watershed Inspectors who are hired by each of the participating municipalities. Each municipality participating in the KWIC is responsible for hiring a Watershed Inspector that will perform inspection of on-site sanitary systems and investigate complaints that arise in the watershed.

KWIC Directors

The directors of KWIC include the Town Supervisors from Barrington, Jerusalem, Pulteney, Milo, Urbana, Wayne and the Mayors of Hammondsport and Penn Yan